Why Inflation is the Economy’s Hidden Iceberg in 2013

Even though Ben Bernanke’s Fed has kept interest rates close to zero, inflation hasn’t been a big problem since the 2008 financial crisis.

Despite what many observers have expected inflation has remained quite tame.

However in 2013, that may be about to change. One factor that might cause a surge in inflation is the fiscal cliff.

That’s because Bernanke is already buying $1 trillion of Treasury and housing agency bonds each year ($85 billion per month) against a budget deficit that is about the same level.

That means the inflow of funds to the economy from the Fed and the outflow of money to fund the government’s spending are about balanced.

However, if we go over the fiscal cliff the Federal deficit immediately falls to about $300 billion per annum. At that point, Bernanke would be injecting an extra $700 billion a year into the economy – which would have a corresponding inflationary effect.